Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

ASU's Romello White (23) and Arizona's Chase Jeter (4) position for an inbounds play during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

ASU's Romello White (23) and Arizona's Chase Jeter (4) position for an inbounds play during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller stares down an official after a no-call during the second half against ASU at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller stares down an official after a no-call during the second half against ASU at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

ASU's Zylan Cheatham (45) dives for a loose ball against Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

ASU's Zylan Cheatham (45) dives for a loose ball against Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

ASU's Kimani Lawrence (14) recovers a steal from Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

ASU's Kimani Lawrence (14) recovers a steal from Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

An Arizona cheerleader twirls her light up baton during the pregame at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

An Arizona cheerleader twirls her light up baton during the pregame at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's mascots and cheerleaders perform during the pregame at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's mascots and cheerleaders perform during the pregame at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

ASU's Remy Martin (1) dribbles the ball up the court away from Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

ASU's Remy Martin (1) dribbles the ball up the court away from Arizona's Ryan Luther (10) during the second half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's Justin Coleman (12) steals the ball from ASU's Kamani Lawrence (14) during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller yells to his team as they play ASU during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019. Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller yells to his team as they play ASU during the first half at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 9, 2019.
Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona's Devonaire Doutrive (1) scores off a rebound in the final second of the game, getting past Oregon State's Alfred Hollins (4) and Kylor Kelley (24), to secure the win during an NCAA college basketball game in Corvallis, Ore., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Arizona won 74-72. Amanda Loman, AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's Devonaire Doutrive (1) scores off a rebound in the final second of the game, getting past Oregon State's Alfred Hollins (4) and Kylor Kelley (24), to secure the win during an NCAA college basketball game in Corvallis, Ore., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Arizona won 74-72.
Amanda Loman, AP

Arizona's Brandon Randolph, left, and Brandon Williams, right, celebrate with Devonaire Doutrive, center, after Doutrive scored in the final second of the game, securing the win over Oregon State during an NCAA college basketball game in Corvallis, Ore., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Arizona won 74-72. Amanda Loman, AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona's Brandon Randolph, left, and Brandon Williams, right, celebrate with Devonaire Doutrive, center, after Doutrive scored in the final second of the game, securing the win over Oregon State during an NCAA college basketball game in Corvallis, Ore., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Arizona won 74-72.
Amanda Loman, AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Colorado forward Lucas Siewert, front, pulls in a rebound as Arizona Wildcats center Chase Jeter, back left, and guard Brandon Randolph defend in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. Colorado won 67-60. David Zalubowski/AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Colorado forward Lucas Siewert, front, pulls in a rebound as Arizona Wildcats center Chase Jeter, back left, and guard Brandon Randolph defend in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. Colorado won 67-60.
David Zalubowski/AP

Arizona head coach Sean Miller directs his team against Colorado in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona head coach Sean Miller directs his team against Colorado in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski/AP

Arizona forward Ira Lee, back drives to the net for a basket as Colorado forward Lucas Siewert defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Arizona forward Ira Lee, back drives to the net for a basket as Colorado forward Lucas Siewert defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski/AP

Colorado guard D'Shawn Schwartz, right, riches up to block a shot by Arizona guard Brandon Randolph, center, as Colorado guard Tyler Bey defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

Colorado guard D'Shawn Schwartz, right, riches up to block a shot by Arizona guard Brandon Randolph, center, as Colorado guard Tyler Bey defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski/AP

UCLA guard Prince Ali tries to pass the ball after falling while under pressure from Arizona guard Justin Coleman during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill, AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

UCLA guard Prince Ali tries to pass the ball after falling while under pressure from Arizona guard Justin Coleman during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Mark J. Terrill, AP

California's Paris Austin loses the ball during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Ben Margot, AP

Photos: Arizona basketball 2018-19 season

California's Paris Austin loses the ball during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Ben Margot, AP

LAS VEGAS — In the most upside-down Arizona basketball season of the past 35 years, maybe it was fitting that the Wildcats went out first this time.

The champions of the 2017 and 2018 Pac-12 Tournaments, and the proud program that has made 32 NCAA Tournament appearances over those three and a half decades, ended their season Wednesday in the first game of the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, losing 78-65 to USC.

The Wildcats stayed closer to the Trojans this time around, but many of the same issues that prevented UA from winning more than three games since Jan. 19 popped up again: The Wildcats allowed USC to shoot 48.3 percent, coughed up 12 turnovers that led to 17 USC points and made only 5 of 22 3-pointers.

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller, center, looks toward the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Southern California in the first round of the Pac-12 conference tournament Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Las Vegas.(Photo: John Locher/AP)

The Trojans outscored them 21-5 to open the second half; the Wildcats could never catch back up. It was the same way on Jan. 24, when USC beat the UA by 23 points in Los Angeles.

“We just kind of wore down,” center Chase Jeter said.

All that meant the ninth-seeded Wildcats were out of T-Mobile Arena before 3 p.m. on the first day of the conference tournament, with nowhere to go anytime soon.

Arizona finishes with a 17-14 record and has no NCAA Tournament, not even an NIT, to look forward to. Just a lot of questions about what was another season full of adversity, and about what the future might bring.

As usual, UA coach Sean Miller faced some of those questions in his postgame press conference. Reportedly facing a subpoena in the upcoming federal college basketball bribery trial, with his program also under NCAA scrutiny, Miller was asked if it might have been his last game at Arizona.

Miller also declined to comment about what sort of conversations he’s had with UA administrators about the future. Some of his players also face questions about their individual futures.

Redshirt juniors Dylan Smith and Chase Jeter both said they weren’t sure whether they’d be back. Since Jeter has already graduated, and Smith will this spring, both can play elsewhere immediately as graduate transfers. They could also wade into professional basketball.

“No decisions have been made,” Jeter said.

The Wildcats’ leading scorer, sophomore Brandon Randolph, also declined to comment about his future.

“To be honest with you, I'm really not worried about that,” Randolph said. “We just lost, so I'm just kind of more worried about how my brothers are doing, how my family's doing.”

Considering how their season dropped off quickly after a 13-4 start that even had them in the early Pac-12 title consideration, the Wildcats appeared to be holding up well after the loss.

Arizona's head coach Sean Miller, center, reacts after a play against Southern California during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Las Vegas.(Photo: John Locher/AP)

Pac-12 Tournament rules mandate that teams open their locker rooms to media following a cooling-off period. When the door opened Wednesday, there was no sign of tears, nobody with a towel over their head, nobody hiding, and even a few light laughs.

Instead of putting their heads down, the Wildcats mostly talked about the same topics Miller emphasized at the same time on the postgame podium.

Several of them noted that they coped fairly well with a lot of setbacks, having a starter (Emmanuel Akot) quit the team in early January, then having two of their best players (Brandon Williams and Jeter) injured — and watching UA move to fire a second assistant coach under Miller, Mark Phelps.

“I don’t like to hear people say that this team is isn't as talented,” Smith said, when asked to compare his experience on last season's Pac-12 champions. “We just went through a lot of adversity, actually a little bit more than last year. I mean, nobody quit the team last year, things like that.

“It’s just we didn't have enough depth to push through those situations.”

Wednesday was one of those situations. The Wildcats trailed by up to 11 points in the first half, then shot 50 percent over the half to pull into a 40-40 halftime tie. They then fell apart early in the second half.

UA made just 4 of 18 shots over the first 12 minutes after halftime while USC took leads of up to 18 points midway through the half. The Wildcats' 2-for-14 3-point shooting in the second half then made any notion of a comeback difficult.

But there were things for the Wildcats to be happy about. They outrebounded USC 39-30 and held Trojan center Nick Rakocevic to just six points and two rebounds, after he dropped 27 and 12 on the Wildcats during USC’s 80-57 win over UA in January. (Then again, USC forward Bennie Boatwright went off for 22 points and 11 rebounds).

The Wildcats also received 7-for-11 shooting from Ryan Luther, saw Williams go to the free-throw line nine times instead of getting in foul trouble as he has recently, and took a 10-5 lead in the first four minutes while not starting the slumping Randolph for the first time this season.

Randolph finished with two points on 1-for-6 shooting, making a layup that gave UA a brief 40-38 lead in the final minute of the first half. He appeared to take the move to the bench well.

“It was definitely (Miller) was trying to shake things up,” Randolph said. “I think Coach Miller, usually his schemes work. I don't really question them. And I thought the starting five for this game did really well coming out. I was definitely proud of them. I wasn't mad or anything.”

The way Miller spoke, he wasn’t angry, either.

The Wildcats' coach of the past 10 years said he was proud of a team that played through adversity that “came in a lot of different forms.” He said a 17-15 record was about where he figured the Wildcats would finish, and suggested their historically bad season might have been worse if it weren’t for their effort and togetherness.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever sounded different, and I won’t now,” Miller said. “In many ways, we did the best that we could.”